A team of Czech archaeologists has rediscovered a lost tomb belonging to an ancient Egyptian official named Ptahshepses, who lived approximately 4,400 years ago (in the 24th and 25th centuries BC). The discovery also included the mummified remains of this important individual.
According to the statement published by the Czech Egyptology Institute on Facebook, the lost tomb was discovered in the area between Egypt’s Abusir and Saqqara pyramid sites.
“It was a difficult search that lasted several years,” Miroslav Barta, head of research at Abusir, said in a statement. “Detailed satellite images of the area and examination of old maps allowed the rediscovery of Ptahshepses’ tomb in 2022.”
How the tomb disappeared; How was it found again?
About 160 years ago, a French scientist named Auguste Mariette found and partially “excavated” this site. Mariette excavated Ptahshepses’s false door, a symbolic doorway that the Egyptians believed the dead could use to enter and exit the tomb, and a lintel originally placed above the cult chapel. However, later the grave was buried under the sand and disappeared until today.
The artifacts Mariette saved are currently on display in the British Museum. The gate itself provides a comprehensive and unique account of Ptahshepses’ career. It tells how he was educated at the court of the last Giza ruler Menkaure (“Mykerinos” in Greek) and later married the daughter of pharaoh Userkaf. Userkaf was an important figure who founded the Fifth Dynasty of Sun Kings. “This reference itself indicates that Ptahshepses was the first known official of non-royal origin in Egyptian history to have the privilege of marrying a royal daughter,” the institute explains. “In addition, the lintel contains a reference to one of the earliest attestations of the god Osiris. This makes the authoritative Ptahshepses even more unique, since the idea of incorporating the famous Egyptian god of the afterlife into the Egyptian pantheon can be attributed to him.”
The tomb dates to the reign of Nyuserra Ini, the sixth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom.
“Given the political, historical and religious importance of Ptahshepses, the tomb is one of the most remarkable discoveries of recent times in Egyptian archaeology,” the statement said. “At the same time, the relatively small mastabas with a single cult chapel were built at roughly the same time as the neighboring tomb.” “It represents an extremely important missing link among large family tombs such as the Ty tomb.”
During the excavations carried out in 2022, archaeologists uncovered a large superstructure of the mastaba (a rectangular structure consisting of Egyptian tombs), 42 meters long and 22 meters wide. A well-preserved chapel, complete with painted decorations, two serdabs (areas used for statues of the owner) and a long access corridor were found at the entrance.
Detail of mummified fish
In 2023, the team entered the burial chamber containing a large limestone blocking stone. The chamber was ancient but still contained some of the original equipment used in the burial ceremony, including votive offerings and pottery. Interestingly, the tomb also contained a mummified fish, the first of its kind ever discovered.
Additionally, a partially opened sarcophagus still lying on its back contained the mummified remains of the officer himself. Examination of their remains has revealed new information about the evolution of mummification during the Old Kingdom.
“The tomb of a man who changed the course of Egyptian history has thus been rediscovered, representing one of the expedition’s biggest discoveries in recent times,” Barta said. “The investigation is still ongoing and more discoveries will likely be made that will shed new light on his family and his time,” he added.
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